The search for the private Cessna plane which crashed into the Baltic Sea on Sunday evening, 35 kilometres from the coast.

Four passengers were reportedly on board the plane, which was flying from Spain to Cologne, Germany. However, for unknown reasons, communication with the aircraft was lost and the plane crashed into the Baltic Sea.

A Cessna 551 that was flying from Jerez was supposed to land in Cologne but the pilot didn't answer ATC calls and the aircraft contiued to fly on autopilot in a straight line before it lost altitude and crashed into Baltic sea close to the Latvian coast https://t.co/iIVNoMNksW pic.twitter.com/klQQosArTg

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) September 4, 2022

The Cessna private passenger plane started its journey around 16:00 CET in Spain. It was supposed to land in Cologne, Germany. The information available to the Civil Aviation Agency indicates that contact with the aircraft was lost while flying over France, and the trajectory of the aircraft changed.

Fighter jet pilots reported not seeing anybody in the cockpit as they escorted the aircraft. Unofficial information also shows that the pilot reported a change in cabin pressure.

Aircraft from several countries and a passenger ferry headed to the crash site on Sunday evening to aid the rescue operation. A wreck, a concentrated patch of waste and an oil-like slick had been spotted near the crash site, Latvian search and rescue head Peteris Subbota told Latvian television, adding no passengers had been found.

The cause of the crash is not yet known.